Teaching a Stubborn Dog to Come

Posted by Tom Steffler on November 10, 2009

Dogs aren’t actually stubborn. However, they usually don’t understand exactly what they’re supposed to do. To make this crystal clear, you need to seize the alpha status very quickly. Be prepared to use patience and determination and firm force to produce the behavior wanted. This can be hard to do when training the command “come”.

Dogs enjoy exploring their environment naturally by sniffing all around the area, digging, turning things around and running away with little objects. A training session is best done when you keep your dog away from other distracting voices and people. A clear yard without any little objects is the best idea for such a purpose.

If the dog behaves spontaneously, coming towards you, take full advantage by reinforcing that action. So, a movement towards you should be reinforced with come, and a hand movement. Use gestures and words, which are not used during any training sessions.

To start, face the dog and get it in the sit position. Execute the “stay” command as you move back a couple of steps. Use the voice and hand gesture command. Give the dog abundant praise for correct behavior, but don’t give a reward for uncompleted or inappropriate behavior.

Keep repeating this, as you move back. If your dog comes towards you too quickly, use ’sit/stay’ commands again. If the dog does not move try coaxing with treats or toys.

Reluctant or slow learners might need collar training or leash training. Put the dog in the sit and stay position. Start moving away, letting the leash go slack. If the dog does not obey you, tug the leash gently with the appropriate hand and voice command.

If the dog follows you too quickly, use a long lead and wrap it around a tree. Tugging the leash if the dog starts to get up early can stop it as you say stay. You can use the help of a friend, if there is no tree handy. But the dog is going to get confused about whom to obey. They focus best upon just one person.

Consistence as well as patience is necessary during training sessions. Human induced commands like sit, stay and come are not naturally understood by dogs. Yelling at the dog when it makes errors or does not obey your orders is quite a counterproductive exercise. You have to establish your alpha status by your body posture, a firm voice, and your patience while you wait for it to obey you. Physical leading and restraint is not such a helpful technique.

Many dogs swiftly show themselves to be happy to please and are very solicitous of praise following the learned behavior. Just be certain they’re the ones ‘coming’, not you. If you have to, prove that you’re the demanding one when it comes to their behavior.

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